Clam-shell bucket.



E. MURREY. GLAM SHELL BUCKET. APPLICATION FILED FEBJ, 1909.

956,137.. Patented Apr. 26, 1910.

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E. ,MURREY. CLAM SHELL BUCKET, APPLICATION FILED IBB.1, 1909.

Pateflted Apr. 26, 1910.

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n. MURREY. CLAM SHELL BUCKET.

' APPLICATION FILED I-EB.1, 1909. v 956,1 37 Patented Apr. 26, 1-910.

l/znesses. h jnvenior Ed Mu Trey E. MURREY. GLAM SHELL BUCKET.APPLICATION FILED FEBJ. 1909.

9 5 1 37 Patented Apr. 26, 1-910.

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E. MURRBY.

GLAM SHELL BUCKET.

APPLICATION FILED 113.1. 1909.

956,1 3'7. Patented Apr. 26, 1910.

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jfior zeyj UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ED MURREY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

CLAlVI-SHELL BUCKET.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ED MURREY, a citizen of the United States, residingat Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Clam-Shell Buckets; andI do declare the following to be a full, clear,'and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a clam shell bucket and has for its principalobject to provide a bucket of that class in which a leverage is appliedto the mouth of each bucket shell in order to secure a positive downwardmovement of the shells during the bucket closure.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a simple andeconomical apparatus which will embody the improved details of structurepresently described and pointed out in the claims, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer tolike parts throughout the several views, in which Figure I is aperspective view of a bucket constructed according to my invention, andmounted on a preferred form of derrick. Fig. II is an enlarged frontview of a closed bucket, and a portion of its tackle. Fig. III is asectional view of same. Fig. IV is a front view of the bucket in itsopen position. Fig. V is an enlarged detail view of same in closedposition. Fig. VI is a horizontal sectional view of Fig. V. Fig. VII isa sectional view of the closed bucket and 'a portion of its tackle,looking from the which the upper ends of the spreading leversSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 1, 1909.

Patented Apr. 26, 1910.

Serial No. 475,496.

5 are mounted, the hanger being suspended from a cable 8 which is runover pulleys 9 on a derrick 10, and is fixed, at one end, to the derrickand operatively connected, at the opposite end, with a drum 11, so thatthe spreading levers may be raised when the rope 8 is wound on its drum.

12 designates hanger brackets, each of which is provided with a shaft13, upon which a pulley 14: is mounted.

Fixed at its respective ends to the derrick body and to the drum 15, isa rope 36 which is run over the pulleyslt so that, when the drum 15 isoperated, the rope is wound thereon and the han er brackets raised.

Pivoted to the body of each of the bucket shells, near the back, are theclosing levers 16, each of which preferably comprises a pair of bodymembers that extend on opposite sides of a lug 17 that is carried by theshell body and has the pin 18 extended therethrough.

Extending between the members of each lever .pair, and pivotally mountedon the shaft 13 of the opposite bracket 12, is an extension arm 19,which is adapted to slide between the lever members and has a number ofapertures 20 through which and through the apertures 21 in the levermembers, a pin 22 is projected for the purpose of uniting each leverpair to its extension arm.

23 designates wings which extend from the inner ends of the arms 19, andhave the laterally projecting pins 24 which bear against opposite edgesof the lever members for the purpose of firmly uniting such extensionarms and lever members.

The closing levers are preferably four in number, each lever beingsecured to the side of its shell near the bottom and extending across toan opposite hanger bracket 12, so that the levers cross above theshells, each lever being provided with an offset portion 27, at itslower end, in order that the brackets may turn to the horizontal openposition shown in Fig. IV, without binding against the lever arms.

28 designates a shaft which extends through apertures in the levers 16,to pivot same above the center of the bucket, in order that the shellsmay open and close from the same fulcrum, when the bucket is in use.

Pivotally mounted on the shaft 13, of each hanger frame, are the leverarms 25 which extend to, and are pivotally mounted on the lever brackets4 which extend from the ends of the buckets, each of the levers 25extending from its hanger shaft 16 to the opposite bracket 1, so thatthey cross above the bucket shells and tend to push on the brackets atwhen the hanger brackets 12 are raised.

Fixed on each of the lever arms 16 is a slide bracket 29, which ispreferably U shaped and spread from the arm upon which it is mounted,sufficiently to provide free travel of the pulleys 30 thereon.

Pulleys 30 are mounted in yokes 31 on the upper members 32 of the drawbars 33, which yokes straddle the brackets 29 to enable the pulleys totravel on and be supported by said brackets. The lever members 33 of thedraw bars are pivotally connected with the bucket shells near thecutting edges thereof and both the inner and outer members have threadedshanks which are adjustably connected by the turn buckles 3%.

When the rope 36 is let out and the bucket is supported by the rope 8,through its hanger and the levers 5, the bucket shells will be spreadapart until the back pieces 2 are in a horizontal position (Fig. IV).

\Vhile the bucket shells are being spread, the lever arms 16 are movedtoward a horizontal position and the pulleys on the draw bars 33 made totravel over their brackets until they are adjacent to the upper ends ofthe brackets. The bucket, in its open condition, is then lowered to theground, or to a pile of material which it is desired to lift, and therope 36 is wound on the drum 15 to raise the hangers 12, and rock thelevers 16 and 25. When the upper ends of these levers are raised, asdescribed, the levers 16 turn on their fulcrum shaft 28 so that theirlower ends are moved downwardly and toward each other, the levers 25acting simultaneously on the brackets 4 to push the shells together, sothat the edges of the bucket shells are moved into and through theground, or the material, to close under a load of material.

WVhile the weight of the bracket will tend to hold the shells in theground or material during their closing action, a direct downward pullis secured through the medium of the draw bars 33, which positivelyforces the shells downwardly into the ground or mate rial when theshells are moved toward each other, so that a direct downward draft ishad at the cutting edges that insures a load and lessens the tendency ofthe metal to buckle during the cutting action.

It is readily apparent that the first action of the rope 36 will tend tostraighten the closing levers and draw bars, so that the shells will bemoved toward each other to loosen the ground and to fill the bucket withearth or other material, and that as soon as the bucket is closed itwill be raised by further winding of the rope on its drum, and thederrick turned to move the bucket to unloading position.

To dump the bucket, the rope 36 is let out until the weight of thebucket is carried by the rope 8 and spreading levers 5, .then the levers16 and 25 are moved toward their horizontal positions, and the bucketshells drawn apart because of the spreading leverage of the parts 5 and25. After the load has been dumped, the bucket is moved back to itsexcavating or loading position and let down for another load, thebuckets being closed against the earth or material, as previouslydescribed.

hen it is desired to empty the bucket at an elevation materially higherthan the loading point, it is apparent that both of the ropes 36 and 8may be wound on their drums, in order that the spreading parts may beoperated at the proper elevation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A clam shell bucket comprisingshells adapted for movement toward and from each other, levers connectedwith and adapted for closing said shells, and adjustable draw barscarried by said levers and connected with said shells.

2. A clam shell bucket comprising shells, levers, pivoted together andeach connected with one of said shells, a draw bar movably mounted oneach of said levers above the pivotal point and connected with one ofsaid shells, and means connected with the free portions of said leversfor raising and lowering said bucket.

3. A clam shell bucketcomprising shells adapted for movement toward andfrom each other, each shell being open at the end facing the oppositeshell, a lever pivoted to each shell near its closed end, said leversbeing crossed above the bucket and pivotally connected, a slide bracketcarried by each of said levers above the pivotal point, a draw barslidably mounted on each of said brackets and pivotally connected withthe opposite shell, near the open mouth thereof, means for actuatingsaid levers, and means for spreading said shells.

4. A clam shell bucket comprising shells, each having its outer endclosed and its inner end open, levers connected with said shells andpivotally connected together above said shells, draw bars carried bysaid levers and connected with said shells, spreading levers connectedwith said shells, and means for actuating said levers.

5. A clam shell bucket comprising shells, each closed at one end andopen at the other, closing levers pivotally connected with said shellsand pivotally connected together above said shells, draw bars connectingsaid closing levers and shells, a bracket on the closed end of each ofsaid shells, aspreading lever connected with each of said brackets andpivotally connected together above said bucket, means connecting saidbrackets with the free ends of said closing levers, and means foractuating said closing and spreading levers.

(5. A clam shell bucket comprising shells, each open at one end andclosed at the other, closing levers p-ivotally connected with saidshells and crossed thereabove, means pivotally connecting said leversbetween their ends, draw bars carried by said levers and connected withsaid shells near the open mouths thereof, an independent hanger bracketfor each closing lever, a lever bracket connected with and projectingfrom the closed end of each of said shells, a spread ing lever pivotallyconnected with each of said brackets and pivoted together at their upperends, an arm pivotally connected with each lever bracket and with theopposite hanger bracket, a rope running over both hanger brackets andadapted for raising and lowering the bucket, and means for raising orlowering said spreading levers, substantially as set forth.

7. A clam shell bucket comprising shells,

each open at one end and closed at the other,

closing levers connected with said shells and each comprising a pair ofbars and means for spreading same to form a channel therebetween, anextension arm adapted to move in the channel, in each lever unit, andprovided with apertures adapted for registration with apertures in saidlever bars, a pin adapted for projection through said apertures, wingson said extension arms adapted for projection beyond the edges of saidlever bars, lugs on said wings adapted for engaging said lever bars, arod extending through and pivotally connecting all of said lever units,draw bars carried by said levers and connected with said shells, hangerbrackets connected with said levers, a rope running over said hangerbrackets, spreading levers connected with said shells, arms connectingsaid spreading levers with said hanger brackets and separate means foractuating said hanger rope and spreading levers for the purpose setforth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ED MURREY.

Vitnesses:

MYRTLE M. J AoKsoN, ARTHUR O. BROWN.

